


Doing the Red String Trial Ride but not alone

by QueenOfDruids



Series: The adventures of Kelly And Evergray [9]
Category: Star Stable
Genre: Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:12:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22132474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfDruids/pseuds/QueenOfDruids
Summary: Kelly has done this before, but now and after have started to get ride of her nightmares, she's ride for doing it again, but with her lover and just after spent a lovely night together. But things can turn a bit angst before the happy ending, right?
Relationships: Evergray (Star Stable)/Original Character(s)
Series: The adventures of Kelly And Evergray [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590745
Kudos: 1





	Doing the Red String Trial Ride but not alone

**Author's Note:**

> Note 1: My SSO character's name is different, but since I don't like it cause when I joined the selectable names were less than now, I decided that my character will have another name although ingame she has another one. (you know, when your name is the same as your character and your surname is Crazywater because you have to choose it randomly...Well, I think a change was needed there xD)
> 
> Note 2: The other two characters that I put here as a pairing are from my original novel that doesn't have anything related to SSO, but I wanted to put them since I love to do little crossovers, so at first they will be called as the birds they are represented by.
> 
> Note 3: My character is 27 years old, so she's older than the Sould Riders
> 
> Note 4: In my original novel, Siobhan and Maverick mount two big stags, not horses
> 
> Note 5: Winterwhisper is my starter horse, but due the knowledge that we have about our character's skill to create a bond with any horse I will be naming more of the horses that I have on the game
> 
> Note 6: I know the Red String Ride was before the events that lead into Elizabeth's death and I did the ride quest before rescuing Anne, but I wanted to write this so she's going to do the ride again but with someone else. So this takes after Evergray takes Kelly to Ydris in order to fins a cure for her nightmares and also after Elizabeth’s memorial.

More than two weeks had passed since Evergray took Kelly to Ydris in order to find a cure for the nightmares she had started to have after Elizabeth’s death. More than two weeks after failing in his quest of finding that cure, but, in spite of everything, during those two weeks and thanks to Evergray’s efforts and Siobhan and Maverick’s advices, Kelly started to get ride slowly of those horrible dreams. The nightmares stopped hunting her before Elizabeth’s memorial but they started to hunt her again some days later.

That day, Evergray was speaking with his brother while Avalon worked on his garden. It was quite strange seeing both siblings together since they used not to get along very well-specially when they said that cats and mice used to get along better than them-but that day, it was like they had decided to put their differences away in order to have a proper talk.

“So, how is Kelly?” Avalon asked as he moved some flower pots “Are the teas that Siobhan gave to her working?”

“Yeah, they’re working” Evergray answered "They stopped hunting her before the memorial but they are here again. Lucky for her, she is having less nightmares than the first months after Elizabeth’s death.”

“How many?”

“Yesterday she only had one” the former druid said as he helped his brother to move a heavy pot “But it was a hard one. It took me near half an hour to calm her down until she got exhausted and fell asleep. I think she is having them again due how she was during the memorial...She was near to broke in pieces..."

“Well, better that than being haunted by more bad dreams, and I understand how she was feeling that moment” Avalon sighed standing up and removing some dirt from his robe before changing the topic“I’m sorry that the thing with Ydris didn’t work.”

“Well, Ydris said that he couldn’t get rid of those nightmares without causing her a lot of pain. And judging the look he gave to me, he wasn’t going to make her suffer”

“That Pandorian magician is still in love with her?”

“Perhaps” Evergray said “But he’s not going to enter in a fight for her love. He saw that she’s happy with me so he decided to stay away. But according to him, and I quote his words, ‘Perhaps her heart and love belongs to you now, Gray Pilgrim, but I’m not going to stop worrying about that dove that has left the nest forever’”

“I’m starting to think that he has something related with birds” Avalon said with irony

“Probably, but it’s his way to refer to his many admirers” Evergray said with a chuckle “Or maybe he’s true form is a dove covered by his human disguise”

Avalon couldn’t help but laughed and that joke “You and your extravagant jokes”

“You know, when you’ve been alone for a lot of time, making extravagant jokes could help you to not get crazy on your loneliness”

That made Avalon to made a line when he pressed his lips as he continued moving pots “Yeah, maybe you’re right”

“C’mon, Avalon, don’t tell me that you’re getting regretful of being agreed when the druids decided to exile me” Evergray said looking at his brother “I thought I would never seen you being regretful about that”

“I'm not feeling that, Evergray. It’s just I can’t imagine being alone for so long”

“I wasn’t alone all the time” his brother said “In few times, I paid a visit to some witches”

“You know what the Keepers think about witches, Evergray”

“The kind and elder Mrs. Holdsworth is also a witch and you or the Keepers aren’t against her, are you?”

“She’s different from the other witches” Avalon said “What about that witch, Pi? Do I have to remind you her previous association with Dark Core in which she was the one that took away Star Breeds in order to corrupt them and turned them into Dark Horses?”

“Yes, yes, I know that, but we both know that Pi is now in our side since Kelly took that golden apple and used it to turn Pi into a normal and good witch” Evergray pointed out “Also she refused to turn Justin’s horse into a Dark Horse”

“But…”

“And Pi also helped us making a potion that allowed Kelly to go through the magic barrier that Ydris built to protect his circus when Kelly and the Soul Riders were on their way to rescue Concorde from his hands” the former druid continued talking, smirking a bit when he heard his brother sighing on defeat

“Alright, alright, you have a point” Avalon said as he finished moving flowers pots “Let’s change the topic” he added offering his brother a seat on the branch that he had on the garden “You know that the Red String Trail Ride was some months ago”

“Yeah, of course I know that”

“And if I’m not wrong, you told Kelly to go with her friends instead of going with you, right?”

“C’mon, it was a moment she had to pass with her friends” Evergray said, feeling a bit uncomfortable “What would those girls would think if they saw me going with me? It’s not the first time that someone refers at me as the creepy old man with a pink light on one eye”

“More than old I think you are an errand” Avalon pointed out “You rejected her offer of going together cause you would feel uncomfortable, wouldn’t you?”

Avalon took Evergray’s silence as a yes, so he sighed and shook his head “Listen, why you don’t do it this time with Kelly?”

“I thought the path of the Red String Trial Ride was closed after the event”

“Well, so many riders did the ride and it was necessary to close the path to check that everything was right, and then, they opened it again”

“It sounds like a great idea…Did you have the idea?”

“Not me” Avalon said and took two long and red ribbons from a pocket of his robe and gave them to his brother

“Elizabeth” Evergray said when he recognize those ribbons as the ones Elizabeth used on her crafting things “I should have known it” he said with a chuckle as he stroked the ribbons with his fingers

“She told me to give the ribbons to you in case she couldn’t” Avalon said with a sigh “And her words were ‘Kelly and Evergray deserve the best, so give these ribbons to them if I can’t so they will make use of them during the Red String Ride’”

“But what was her intention with this?”

“I think she wanted to give you and Kelly her blessings” his brother said “You know, you and your partner have a very strong bond and Elizabeth wanted the best for both of you”

“There’s more, right?” Evergray asked and laughed at his brother’s expression “C’mon, tell me what is taking you so long to say?”

“I’m still trying not to make at that idea but…Well, she also wanted to bless you when the day arrived”

“Oh, you mean that day” he said and then, chuckled “Aww, my dear brother doesn’t want to make the idea of having a sister-in-law?”

“What? No! I mean, I will be happy because I really care about her and-Wait, don’t tell me that you…”

Evergray laughed even more, his laughter interrupted by a rough cough. After drinking a bit of the water his brother offered him, he took a heavy breath before looking at Avalon “No, Avalon. I didn’t do the proposal. I have to admit that part of me wants to propose her, but if you ask, no, I didn’t propose her to marry me. Maybe one day, when both of us feel prepared, I will do it, but not now, so don’t be scared”

Avalon let out a very heavy sigh after breathing deeply “You know that I can’t have heart attacks since I’m on charge of caring Fripp”

“Avalon, I know we don’t get along very well, but you can’t run away from the truth. One day, she will be your sister-in-law. I’m assure you that will be in a very far future, so don’t worry.”

“I think I should start to prepare for that day” Avalon said

They spent the rest of the day chatting and checking on Calanthe and the other horses until the night arrived. Evergray looked at the clock that was on the wall and sighed. He was on the table of the living room, with a big amount of papers and books. The last days, Kelly had started to arrive at night since her tasks as Soul Rider became harder, but he knew she wasn’t fine. He couldn’t help but worry about her all the time he spent alone. He wished to spent more time with her since these days he only could see her at morning and then at night, and when she arrived, she was so tired that she usually went directly to bed. He knew that she was taking those tasks too seriously after Elizabeth’s death, like if she wanted to show her soul sisters that she was fine, but Evergray knew that Kelly wasn’t really fine. With another sigh, he returned to his writing until he heard the main door opening. He looked again to the clock, surprised that it wasn’t too late, but also, he was happy of seeing his lover sooner that night.

“Hello, my love” he greeted her when she went to kiss his cheek after closing the door “I thought you were going to be more late”

“Me too, but Linda told me to return home soon since today we’re only taking care of Concorde” she said with a smile “She didn’t want me to get too tired and I really wanted to be at home sooner than these days”

Evergray smiled as his lips were covered by hers before letting her sit on his lap “I’ve really missed you, my sweet heart. Your smile, your scent, your kisses…”

“It looks like you had a hard day, hadn’t you?” Kelly asked as her fingers started to be busy with the buttons of his shirt, making him blush madly

“Well…Spending all the day with a brother that isn’t agree with you all the times isn’t the best way to spend a day…”

“My poor love, should I feel ashamed of leaving you alone with your brother?” she teased him as she licked his lips with the tip of her tongue “Don’t worry, now I’m here with you…”

“You really like teasing me” he chuckled

“As you as well” she pointed out as she finished unbuttoning his shirt, stroking his bare chest

“I should finish writing that page” Evergray said between kisses as his hands were busy with her shirt “You know, I like to finish work before going to bed”

“Your hands don’t say the same thing” Kelly said as she throw her shirt to the floor before melting her lips with his in a passionate kiss “You can finish it tomorrow, can’t you?”

Evergray answered her with another kiss as he took away her bra in order to have free way to her breasts. Kelly moaned a bit when his fingers started to play with her hard nipples, making her lover to tease her “It looks like you really miss me” he said, his words ending with a moan as she started to move her hips, pressing her tights against his bulge. Without no more words, Evergray let her took him to their bed, losing their clothes on their way and landing on the soft bed naked. He kissed her again, keeping himself on top of her, but then, Kelly took her chance and sifted positions with him.

“You really like to have me on top you, don’t you?”

“Maybe…” he said as their lips melt again, letting their love to flourish one more time

“That was…Whoa, I think I don’t have words” Evergray said with a pant. Their second time making love was even better than the first, perhaps cause he got more knowledge from Kelly about how to pleasure her. Kelly chuckled as she played with the soft hair of his chest “I hope I did well this time too…I’m still learning, after all”

“C’mon Evergray, it was wonderful” she replied booping his nose with her finger before stroking the scarred skin of his chest “How’s your arm?” she asked, worried cause he had a little pain when he used that arm to hold all his weight as the other held her when he was on top on her “It’s hurting, isn’t it?”

“A bit, but I can handle it” Evergray said with a soft sigh “So…Concorde. How is he? Well, actually she. I have to accommodate to that”

“She’s doing fine” Kelly said “She’s happy with Anne, and I’m glad about that, specially after having her away of Elizabeth cause Anne was her actual rider, not Elizabeth”

When Kelly mentioned Elizabeth, Evergray got silent, remembering the words that his brother told him at the garden. Kelly noticed that and leaned on her elbows, worried “Evergray?”

“I have something to tell you” he said sitting up on the bed after managed to take the ribbons from the pocket of his coat that ended near the bed

“Those are the ribbons that are used on the Red String Ride…” she said, sitting next to him

“Elizabeth made them for us” Evergray said “Avalon gave them to me in her name, saying that it was her way of blessing our love and since I didn’t go with you the first time to that ride…”

“You will come this time with me?” she asked and when he nodded, she hugged him, happiness tears on her eyes “Oh, you don’t know how happy I am right now!” she said before stroking his cheek “I will only go if you’re sure”

“Of course I’m sure, my love. We’re going to be alone, so we will be able to enjoy the Ride together” he smiled as he put the ribbons on the bed table “Now we should sleep if we want to wake up early tomorrow” he said hugging her and falling asleep together with his lover

They woke up with the first lights of the sun, embracing each other and sharing some morning kisses before going to prepare themselves. Since they were going to spent all the day out, Kelly suggested to take the tent things if the night caught them in the middle of their return. Evergray was agree with that, and once they were ready, they went to the stables. Winterwhisper was now full recovered and Kelly decided to take him for the ride, something that made the stallion very happy. She put all the tack on him and when he was ready, she mounted, followed by Evergray, who had his arms around her waist.

“C’mon, we should go before anyone else decide to wake up” he said

Kelly nodded and made Winterwhisper walk and when they were outside the village, she made him change to a canter and then, to a gallop. Both Kelly and Evergray noticed how excited the horse was due how fast he was galloping, and she was glad that the medicines that he received did their work very well.

Since they didn’t want to get seen by curious people, the took the paths that weren’t used too much by people, enjoying the views and the wonderful nature and wildlife. In the middle of their journey they stopped near a river that was at the mountain’s skirts. The weather was turning hot and they needed to make a stop. Kelly went to the edge of the river and tested with her hand that the water was on its right temperature, so she started to remove her clothes, making Evergray blush. His blush turned more red when she revealed a two pieces bikini that she had under her clothes.

“C’mon, the water is really fine!” she said “Don’t worry, I put a swimsuit for you in the bag”

And before he could reply, she ran to the water and entered with a little jump. She went to the surface in order to wait her lover, who got into the small tent to change his clothes. Once he was ready, we went out, a bit unsure of if he was doing the right thing, but Kelly’s voice calling him gave him the enough courage to join her on the water.

“You look really nice” she said taking his hand

“I don’t know if…Hey!” Evergray said as he was pulled to the water by his lover. When he got to the surface, he shook his head, trying to get his hair out of his face “Oh no, I’m not going allow you to run. Got you!” he said laughing when he hugged Kelly, who joined him with her laughter before pressing her lips against his “Did I tell you how you make my heart be filled with joy and love?”

“Many times…And I’m not going to get tired of hearing that more times”

After their short bath on the river, they got their clothes changed and a small meal before taking their things back to the bags in order to continue the ride. Sneachta, the white fox, was sleeping on the saddle pack, but she was aware of the many noises that were in the air, and when she heard the wolves howling, she cried, scared.

“How many wolves do you think are living here?” Kelly said “Last time I was doing the Ride we saw few of them, but judging the howls, it’s seems that there are more than before”

“Maybe some wolves from Mistfall arrived and joined the pack that lives here” Evergray said “In that case, we should keep our guard up”

Kelly nodded and their continue the path, aware for the dangers. As the hours passed, they went higher and higher. After two short stops to rest a bit, they saw that they were near the top. She dismounted her horse in order to stretch her legs as she walked towards an ancient tree that looked like if it was death, but actually, it was calling her by her name. Like if she was hypnotized, she followed the voice, ignoring that Evergray was calling her.

“Oh no, Kelly don’t keep walking!” Evergray yelled as he went after her “Kelly!!” he ran as quick as she could and then, he reached his arms to her in order to held her close to him. That made her go back to reality and finding out that they were near the cliff, and when she saw that, she couldn’t avoid but cry on his chest “Hush, I’m here, I’m here…”

“Don’t let me got…Don’t let me go…” she said as her body trembled

“Kelly, I’m not going to leave you, my love” he assured him “I’m here. Hey, look at me, I’m here”

But she didn’t answer. It was like if looking down that cliff made her being trapped on a terrible memory. And she was. She saw herself trying to reach the hand of someone that has trying not to fall from a cliff. She saw herself trying to take its hand, only to see how that person lost its grip and fall down with a cry that pierced her heart. She remembered the person’s face, his face, and how he called her as he keep falling until he hit the rocks in the middle of the fall, ending on the ground death. But as more deep she was on that memory, more clear she heard someone calling her. It wasn’t the one who fall from the cliff; it was the one who was trying to make her react, the one who was holding her close to him.

“Evergray…” she managed to say as her body started not to tremble more

“Oh, Kelly” he said hugging her a bit tightly, tears on his eyes “I was so worried…I tried to make you react but you were gone, like if you were on a…”

“On a living nightmare” Kelly said closing her eyes and leaning her head on his chest, ignoring the tears that crossed her cheeks “I think I should explain you…”

“You don’t need to explain nothing, my dear” Evergray said giving her some water “That tree was part of the Ancient Trees that were connected to Aideen. It seems that this one was so resentful with the humans that he took his chance to get revenge for what the people of Jon Jarl did to his kind”

“I’m not talking about that…In fact, I want to talk about what I’ve seen moments ago…”

“Are you sure? You looked so terrified…”

“Yes, I’m sure” she said smiling a bit before losing her smile “Remember when you teased me about asking me who taught me those things?”

“Yeah…But it was just that, a teasing”

“Well, he was the reason of why I came to Jorvik” she said sadly “I’m from a little village from Scotland, despite of I was born near the frontier between both North Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I was little when my family and I moved to Scotland. That village was locate too near of very high cliffs. Years passed and I grown up and met a boy that was around my age. We became friends and then, we started dating” she paused for few seconds before continue her story “One windy and rainy day, he convinced me to go and see the waves from the highest cliff. At first I didn’t want, since many people died in that cliff trying to do the same, but there I was, going to do something dangerous in order to see the furious ocean. I was a fool thinking that anything would happen to us”

“Don’t call yourself that, my love” Evergray said stroking her face and encouraging her to continue

“Everything was fine…Until he decided to do something stupid. He went to the edge of the cliff, thinking he was invincible and then, he slipped and he lost his balance. He managed to get a good grip, but the stone was so wet that he started to slip” she continued “I ran to him, trying to keep on my feet due the strong wind. I reached my hand to him and when I was so near, he lost his grip and fall. He hit his head in the middle of the fall, so when he hit the rocks that were on the small beach at the cliff’s skirts he was already death” she let Evergray hold her close as he stroked her hair trying to comfort her “His family put all the guilty on me, but the police pointed out that he was the only responsible and that I did all I could to save him. The next months were horrible for me. Half of the people of the village stopped talking at me, calling me murderer and saying that I should have been the one that fell from that cliff, not him. I lost my job, my friends, even the respect of the people, except my family. So eight years ago, more less, I decided to make a choice that would change my life. I heard about the summer camp that was going to be held in Moorland, so I took all my things I could get and I left my home. Forever”

“I assume you don’t want to go back to pay a visit to your family”

“They moved from that village a year later I left, so I don’t have any connections with that place?”

“And with your family?”

“They stop talking to me when I told them I wasn’t going to go back. Jorvik became my new home and I will be here for the rest of my life. If they’re happy, I guess I’m happy too, but thinking on seeing them again makes me remembering all the bad years I passed since his death”

Evergray kept in silence as his lover finished her story. How cruel was the destiny with her, changing her world from a moment to another. He remembered when he lost the Keeper’s trust and his own brother’s trust. How he had to survive alone, exiled to the north and dealing with a disease that he wanted to cure. And now he was there, near the tip of the highest mountain of Jorvik, hugging with tender and love his most beloved person as she opened her heart to him even more than before. Hearing her broken heart story was like remembering part of his exile again, but also, he could understand her better than before, and when he heard her calling herself an horrible person, he knew he needed to act.

“Kelly Nightborn” Evergray said, making her open her eyes and look at him “You’re not a horrible person. If you decided to leave that place and your family was for your good. The death of that boy was hurting you so much that I’m sure you made the best choice coming here in order to heal those wounds”

“Evergray…”

“I’m not going to compare myself with that boy that at the end brought you so much pain” he continued stroking her cheeks with both hands “I made a promise to you. The promise of giving you all the love, all the care and all the attention that I have to give to you. I promised you to stay at your side, and if that means helping you healing the wounds of your past, then, I promise to do that again, because I really care about you, my love” he said those last words leaning his forehead on hers “Maybe this disease takes my energy and sometimes my will to keep alive, but you make me want to stay alive, to stay with you. If your family don’t want to understand why you decided to leave them, don’t think about it. Don’t feel guilty because you aren’t guilty” Evergray kissed her as he wiped her tears away “I love you, Kelly”

“I love you too, Evergray…”

Both lovers kept in their spot together as the sun started to leave its place in the sky. After near an hour, Evergray helped Kelly to stand up and hold her when she lost her balance due the time she had her legs crossed. Once she recovered her balance, she went with him to the place were a lot of red ribbons and strides were tied. Evergray took the ones he had from his pocket and gave one to Kelly.

“Now that we’re here, we should make a new promise” she said

“Like the marriage vows?” he replied teasing her a bit, getting a chuckle from her

“Sort of” Kelly said “I think this made us getting our bond stronger than before, and I want this moment to be one of the most important of our lifes, so, what do you say?”

“I would like to do it, my love”

As they tied their ribbons at the same time, braiding them together sometimes, they made their promise, promising they would be there for each other, laughing when they were happy and comforting them when they were sad, staying at their side when they were sick and making their bond grew even more. Once they finished, they shared a tender kiss, seeing how their ribbons were dancing with the wind.

“Do you feel better?” Evergray asked after some minutes in silence

“Yeah, I’m like I got free from a really heavy thing” Kelly replied mounting on Winterwhisper

“I’m glad of that” he said mounting behind her and hugging her “Shall we return?”

She smiled and together, they made their way back to Valedale, as the sky got free from the few clouds and revealed a beautiful starry night that would escort them all the way back to their home.


End file.
